Crowding the plate on the advice of a teammate, A.J. Ellis was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the eighth inning, driving in the winning run in a 5-4 victory over the Kansas City Royals Wednesday night.

Then after an overturned call on a stolen base attempt put the tying run in scoring position for the Royals, 6-foot-5 Scott Van Slyke – making only his fifth start of the season at first base – jumped up to catch Lorenzo Cain’s line drive headed for the right field corner and instead turned it into a game-ending double play.

“Fortunately, Donnie (Mattingly) played the right first baseman today – the tall one,” Ellis said.

The win gave the Dodgers’ two out of three in the interleague series, their fourth consecutive series victory and fifth in their past six. It also kept them three games behind the first-place San Francisco Giants in the NL West, having gained 6 1/2 games in the standings over the past 17 days.

“You kinda look to see what the Giants are doing,” said Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp – one of a large group of Dodgers who braved fines for being late to the pregame stretch on the field in order to watch the conclusion of Tim Lincecum’s no-hitter on the clubhouse TV.

“But you can’t worry about them. It’s going to come down to the wire. But we have to keep playing good baseball, winning series and worry about the team that’s in front of us that night.”

It was Kemp’s advice to Ellis that might have made the difference in this one.

With the score tied in the eighth inning, Royals reliever Wade Davis came on with a 22-inning scoreless streak. He loaded the bases with two outs for Ellis.

The Dodgers are the worst-hitting team in baseball with the bases loaded – 7 for 47 (.149). Ellis took a 1-and-2 fastball from Davis off his left biceps to drive in the decisive run.

“Matt Kemp gave me some great advice going into that at-bat. He said get all over the plate,” Ellis said. “He’d seen that this guy liked to work away. He’s got an amazing cutter that I was fortunate to foul off a couple times.

“I saw him out there shaking a lot, trying to get to a different pitch. Maybe my being up on the plate forced him to come inside. I scooted up a couple inches just to have more coverage on the outer half. That’s where he likes to work and that’s the way Matt saw him. It did help.”

The Dodgers needed some help on a night when starter Dan Haren had what Mattingly called “probably the first true dud kind of outing of the year for him” and closer Kenley Jansen was unavailable after pitching in four of the previous five games.

Instead, the bullpen got more outs than Haren. Jamey Wright, J.P. Howell, Brandon League and closer-for-a-day Brian Wilson combined for 42/3 scoreless innings after the Royals tied the game in the fifth.

There was real danger in the ninth, though, when Pedro Ciriaco was called out on a stolen base attempt – then ruled safe after a replay review. That put the tying run on second base with just one out.

“You knew it was close just from the reality of the play, seeing it in real time,” Ellis said. “You see it in slow motion and you just hope there’s not enough to overturn it.”

Ciriaco’s fingertips arrived at the bag just before Miguel Rojas’ tag on his back. But Ciriaco wasn’t quick enough to get back on Cain’s liner over Van Slyke’s head.

“He got up pretty good,” Haren joked of Van Slyke’s game-ending play. “You could probably put a phone book under those feet.”

The Dodgers' A.J. Ellis tosses his bat after getting hit by a pitch with bases loaded for the go-ahead run in the eighth inning of Wednesday's game against Kansas City. COLIN E. BRALEY, AP
The Dodgers' Matt Kemp is congratulated after hitting a home run in the first inning against Kansas City. COLIN E. BRALEY, AP
Dodgers pitcher Dan Haren sits in the dugout after being taken out in the fifth inning Wednesday against Kansas City. COLIN E. BRALEY, AP
Yasiel Puig slides into third for a triple past the tag of Kansas City's Mike Moustakas in the third inning Wednesday. ED ZURGA, GETTY IMAGES
Kansas City's Alex Gordon dives into home to score past Dodgers catcher A.J. Ellis on a Mike Moustakas single in the fourth inning. ED ZURGA, GETTY IMAGES
Yasiel Puig slides into third for a triple past the tag of Kansas City's Mike Moustakas in the third inning Wednesday. ED ZURGA, GETTY IMAGES
The Dodgers' Yasiel Puig reacts after hitting a triple in the third inning against the Royals on Wednesday. COLIN E. BRALEY, AP

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